Tag Archives: Forbes
Forbes names co-managing editors
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Forbes magazine announced Tuesday that Stewart Pinkerton and Tom Post have been promoted to managing editors. Both Pinkerton and Post have been serving as deputy managing editors.
In his new role, Pinkerton will continue to oversee the integration of contributors to the magazine and Forbes.com. Prior to joining Forbes in 1990, he spent 24 years at The Wall Street Journal, in a mix of reporting and editing positions.
As deputy managing editor for the Journal, Pinkerton coordinated the reporting and editing of the paper’s insider trading coverage that won two Journal reporters the 1988 Pulitzer Prize for Explanatory Journalism.
Post will continue to have a significant role in the development of cover stories for Forbes, and continue to oversee a stable of magazine writers and reporters. He has been with Forbes since 1997, joining the company from ABC News.
Post has an extensive career in journalism, including serving as general editor at Newsweek magazine from 1990 to 1996, as well as stints at Business Month, Success Magazine, Venture magazine, and at Fortune. In 1993, he won The National Women’s Political Caucus Award for “A Pattern of Rape: War Crimes in Bosnia,” his cover story for Newsweek.
Forbes on the cover of Forbes
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Stephanie Clifford of the New York Times writes Monday about the uniqueness of Steve Forbes being on the cover of Forbes magazine.
Clifford writes, “The issue marks the first time in a long time that a Forbes has appeared on the magazine’s cover. Malcolm Forbes was featured on the cover after he died in 1990, and the founder B. C. Forbes was on the cover in 1952, for the publication’s 35th anniversary.
“‘Steve Forbes, our editor in chief, is internationally known for his economic expertise and analysis,’ said Monie Begley, a Forbes spokeswoman, in an e-mail message. ‘Who better to lead the discussion? The decision to put him on the cover was easy, and not his.’
“She said Mr. Forbes was ‘very cautious’ about his cover appearance, and declined to state who had the idea to put Mr. Forbes on the cover, saying that it had been a ‘group decision’ and that Mr. Forbes had not attended that editorial meeting. Ben Baker, a photographer who has taken portraits of Rudolph W. Giuliani, Barack Obama and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, took the photo.”
Read more here.
Forbes.com, Forbes magazine to merge operations
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Owen Thomas of ValleyWag reports that the editorial operations of Forbes.com and the print business magazine of the same name are set to merge together soon.
Thomas writes, “In New York, Forbes is housed at 60 Fifth Avenue, while Forbes.com is at 90 Fifth Avenue. Now, the publisher is said to be taking a floor at 60 Fifth to house the dotcom reporters, while it clears out ‘deadwood long-timers.’ The new mandate: Everyone will write for both Web and print. Which sounds sensible – unless you work at Forbes.
“What Forbes is not planning to announce: What sounds like a merger is really a takeover – by Forbes.com. Jim Spanfeller, the publisher of Forbes.com, will run the combined operation. ‘It’s a massive coup, one that print people have long seen coming and long feared,’ says our tipster. As well they should: The editors of Forbes have long looked down on their Web brethren. Now they will be working for them.
Read more here.
Business magazines outperform the industry in third quarter
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TALKING BIZ NEWS EXCLUSIVE
Business-related titles performed better than the overall magazine industry in the third quarter, according to data released Tuesday by Publishers Information Bureau.
The magazine industry saw a decline of 8.8 percent in advertising revenue and a 12.9 percent decline in ad pages for the quarter. However, a majority — nine — of the 15 business publications tracked by Publishers Information Bureau reported an increase in ad revenue, and seven reported an increase in ad pages.
Leading the way were the three Time Inc. publications. Fortune Small Business reported a 46.8 percent jump in ad revenue for the quarter to $12.6 million and a 42.7 percent rise in ad pages to 113.92.
Fortune posted a 29.7 percent increase in ad revenue to $70.6 million and a 27.1 percent increase in ad pages to 610.55, while sister publication Money reported a 10.3 percent increase in ad revenue to $38.9 million and a 7.3 percent rise in ad pages to 203.98.
The two Mansueto Ventures titles — Inc. and Fast Company — also reported strong gains. Fast Company posted a 36.1 percent increase in ad revenue to $9.6 million and a 30.5 percent rise in ad pages to 128.89, while Inc. posted a 21.3 percent increase in ad revenue to $24.7 million and a 13.5 percent increase in ad pages to 232.55.
Also posting strong gains for the quarter was The Economist, which had a 33.9 percent increase in ad revenue to $27.8 million and an 11.5 percent rise in ad pages to 523.66.
Among the decliners, Smart Money fell 29.9 percent in ad revenue to $9.8 million and dropped 32.6 percent in ad pages to 116.75, while Forbes declined 21.7 percent in ad revenue to $54.6 million and fell 26.2 percent in ad pages to 449.74.
See all of the data here.
Biz magazines are to blame for investor's problems
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If business magazine coverage is a contrary indicator of what to invest in, then 2008 will go down as a great year for ignoring what they say, writes Ryan Tate of Gawker.
Tate notes that Fortune‘s December 2007 issue recommended that investors buy Merrill Lynch stock, and a BusinessWeek column from April recommended investing in Lehman Brothers.
Tate adds, “In April, Forbes published a cover story about Merrill Lynch CEO John Thain, headlined ‘No Thain, No Gain.’ Like Fortune, Forbes spends a lot of time talking to the executives it covers, and angling for access. It has been known to churn out plenty of hagiography, if not as steadily as its competitor, and the Thain piece edged into that territory: Thain was compared to Superman’s alter ego Clark Kent, called the ‘Mr. Fixit’ at his last job and described as ‘athletic’ and ‘coolheaded.’ Even his facial expressions were reassuring, with a grin that ‘says, No need to brace for disaster.’
“Some of those compliments held up reasonably well, given that Thain managed to sell Merrill just in the nick of time, and at a point when two similarly-troubled competitors could not find buyers.
“But then Forbes‘ Daniel Fisher had to go and write, ‘Aside from its obvious troubles—afflicting all the largest financial institutions (see chart)—Merrill is in damn good shape… Part of Thain’s job, like that of a good physician, is to do no harm. Meaning: Keep the cash machine going…’ Whoops.”
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Hymowitz joins Forbes from WSJ
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Jeff Bercovici of Conde Nast Portfolio reports Wednesday that Carol Hymowitz, who previously wrote a management column for The Wall Street Journal, has joined Forbes as editorial director of Forbes Life Executive Woman.
Bercovici writes, “She’ll be overseeing a new quarterly magazine and developing a website for professional women.
“As I recently noted, Hymowitz’s duties at the Journal included an unofficial role as the paper’s point person on women’s workplace issues. ‘This is definitely a niche I care a great deal about and think has big potential,’ she said via email. She’ll report to CEO Steve Forbes.
“Hymowitz’s arrival at Forbes follows that of Tunku Varadarajan, a former editorial-page editor who’s now in a similar capacity at Forbes.com. London bureau chief Anita Raghavan is also a recent Journal transplant, as is tech columnist Lee Gomes.”
Read more here.
Forbes.com adds 16 columnists
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Mike Shields of MediaWeek writes that Forbes.com has added 16 new columns to beef up the opinions portion of its site.
Shields writes, “To lead this effort, the site has tapped Tunku Varadarajan, who was most recently a contributing editor at the Financial Times, to serve as editor of the more content-rich channel. Under his tutelage, the channel now features four distinct opinion sections: Business and Economics, Foreign Affairs and Defense, Culture and Society, and Politics. Â
“Among the 16 new columnists Varadarajan’s team have brought on board are Reihan Salam, who will author a young Republican-themed column each Monday; Thomas Cooley, Dean of the Stern Business School at NYU, who will cover economic issues on Wednesday in a column dubbed Capital; and Nouriel Roubini, also from NYU’s Stern, who will take a more concerned view on the state of the economy in Doctor Doom (also on Wednesdays). In addition, U.K.-based humor writer Quentin Letts will pen the column Blighty each Thursday, while former President Reagan speechwriter Peter Robinson will author Man Friday at the end of each week.
“Besides the 16 new columnists, Forbes.com’s Opinions Channel is adding book reviews each Monday and Thursday as well as more daily essays, commentary from guest contributors and weekly contributions from various public figures.”
Read more here.Â
Biz magazines show strong gains among affluent readers
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A survey released last week by media research company Ipsos Mendelsohn showed that a number of business magazines have increased their influence among rich readers.
The survey researches the media habits and lifestyles of the affluent population in the United States living households with $100,000+ incomes.
Inc. reported a 68 percent increase from 333,000 readers to 560,000 readers in total affluent audience, posting the largest percentage increase among the 99 measured affluent titles this year.
Fast Company also showed double-digit gains in the so-called affluent audience, increasing 26 percent from 315,000 to 398,000 readers, mirroring the magazine’s double-digit increases in both newsstand sales and revenue this year.
Among affluent readers holding top management job titles, Inc. reported a 60 percent increase, from 116,000 to 185,000, while Fast Company reported an increase of 44 percent, from 126,000 to 182,000.
Fast Company ranked No. 1 in three categories. Fast Company readers are the youngest, have the highest median household income, and hold more top management job titles than the readers of its competitors. Among median household income Fast Company now ranks fifth out of the total 99 measured affluent titles in 2008, up from 12th in 2007.
Other business magazines showed modest increases or declined. For example, in total affluent audience, Business Week increased by just percent (1,385,000 to 1,410,000), while Forbes rose 5 percent (1,523,000 to 1,598,000), and Fortune climbed 7 percent (1,484,000 to 1,598,000).
Wired, however, showed an audience decrease of 4 percent (507,000 to 485,000).
The 2008 Mendelsohn Affluent Survey focuses on the top fifth of U.S. households based on current household incomes ($100,000 or higher in 2007).
Forbes edition in Turkey changes to new publisher
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Forbes announced Thursday that its edition in Turkey will be published by a new partner, but that the editorial content will continue to be produced by the same team.
Earlier this week, Forbes announced a deal to start an edition in Croatia.
The announcement stated, “Turkuvaz Gazete Dergi Basim Anonim Sirketi, a division of Calik Holding A.S., has signed an exclusive licensing agreement with Forbes to continue publishing the leading business magazine in Turkey. The same editorial team will continue to produce the magazine, which has a circulation of 17,000.
“‘Forbes Turkey continues to be targeted at meeting the needs of the nation’s domestic media market,’ said Levent Tayla, Managing Director of the Magazine Group.
“Forbes Television and Licensing President Miguel Forbes stated: ‘We are very pleased to be working with the Calik Group to enhance Forbes Turkey’s existing leadership position in an emerging market that is setting new standards for entrepreneurial capitalism.’”
Read more here.
Waiting for his Pulitzer that prevented the 2008 recession
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Peter Brimelow of Marketwatch writes about an article he wrote 15 years ago for Forbes that nobody paid any attention, but foretold of today’s upheaval in the lending industry.
“Sort of.
“I really did co-write the first one, for Forbes magazine on Jan. 4, 1993. The Federal Reserve Bank of Boston had just published a study purporting to prove definitively that mortgage lenders were discriminating against minorities, the hot cause of the day.
“But when my brilliant co-author, Leslie Spencer, asked the Boston Fed’s research director, Alicia H. Munnell, what minority default rates were, she said proudly that census tract data showed that they were equal to whites. When Leslie pointed out that this actually proved there was no discrimination, because the lenders had somehow weeded out the credit risks down to the same acceptable level, Munnell was dumbfounded and had to concede (on tape) that she did not, in fact, have definitive proof of discrimination at all.
“We had discovered a fundamental technical flaw. We sat back and waited for our Pulitzer Prizes.”
Read more here.